Marijuana

Marijuana cannot be legalized because it remains a threat to the society on a social, political, economical and ethical level.   Irrespective of the various benefits of marijuana that its supporters put forth, one cannot help but wonder why then has the drug not been widely accepted at the national and global level.  First, although marijuana has been found to be effective from the medicinal perspective, there is no guarantee that its legalization will not increase the extent of abuse.  Marijuana remains to be one of the drugs that a majority of users (mostly adolescents and young adults) are dependent on (Pacula, & Caulkins, 2014).  

There are not specific safeguards that guarantee that guarantee that the use of marijuana will be regulated once it is legalized.  What is the guarantee that the drug will not be free-flowing on the streets and thus available to children? The case of alcohol sale is an example of how a substance although legal remains accessible to minors even when there are strict laws against the sale of alcohol to minors.

 The second disadvantage related to the legalization of marijuana is the recognition that the substance is highly addictive and serves a gateway to other drugs.  Supporters may argue that marijuana is not as addictive as other hardcore drugs such as cocaine and heroin.  However, it is a reality that marijuana users develop dependence over time.  Users that become addicted to marijuana experience withdrawal symptoms just like any other drug users (Bonn-Miller, & Bernstein, 2007).  Marijuana also carries the risk of altering the perception of users thus causing impairment that can affect activities such as reasoning.  It is also a fact that the use of marijuana also increases the risk of using other hardcore drugs.  This is especially the case if the marijuana user gets used to the marijuana and desires for a more intense “high” feeling.

References

Bonn-Miller, M. O., & Bernstein, A. (2007). Marijuana use motives: Concurrent relations to frequency of past 30-day use and anxiety sensitivity among young adult marijuana smokers. Addictive Behaviors, 32(1), 49-62

Pacula, R. L., & Caulkins, J. P. (2014). Developing public health regulations for marijuana. Journal Information, 104(6)

Carolyn Morgan is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in research paper writing services if you need a similar paper you can place your order from Top American Writing Services.